Terrible Movie

"Trouble the Water" is in NO WAY a fair example of the United States as whole, not even close. Please do not let the workings of New Orleans broken down government, crime, school drop out rates and public assistance experts in the city give you the wrong impression of an entire country.

Indeed, what happened was a catastrophe , unlike anything we'd seen in over 40 years or more. And while I agree that FEMA should have gone in there within hours, not days, after the storm, the crimes, shooting at helicopters and ambulances is sp typical of inner city New Orleans, Still is today. That is exactly where waiting on the government to do everything for you, has gotten them. Many of their elected officials are no different. I should know, I see it EVERY DAY. That's why the National Guard had to come in and protect their own selves as well a others. the elderly in such despair just breaks my heart :(((. But thanks to some knuckleheads who've done nothing but make the city a miserable place to live because of their crimes? A LOT of people suffered needlessly, whether FEMA arrived on the spot or not.

A question was posed after the storm, which asked "If Katrina had happened any other place in the US, would it have been so bad?" The BEST response I heard was "No - the end result would be different, because the people would be different." And he was right.

The 911 call occurred when the storm was just beginning (keep in mind phone service/power was out for weeks once the storm hit with the worst of it) No rescue teams were going out in the peak of these storms, and people were advised of this from the very start. I've seen cops who risk life and limb going through storms and fire to save another, and no matter what it always seems they get the short end of the stick. Anyway, we got a LOT of help calls like this, when the storm had barely just begin, and people who stayed behind realized how dangerous it was to have stayed in their homes.

There is a line in the doc that reads "there were no busses going out of town for evacuees." Something like that, and that particular line is misleading to say the least. The FACT is, transit busses were up and down all over New Orleans the Saturday before, giving people FREE rides to the Superdome if they had no other way to get to safety. THESE BUSSES WERE COMING BACK EMPTY. So true enough, these busses were not going to take people out of town, but they certainly would have taken them to higher ground for FREE, thus reducing the amount of drownings that occurred from a levee never built to withstand any storm larger than a Cat 3 in the first place. Many able bodied people (much like the character in this documentary) did NOT take opportunities to leave their home when it was given to them, and regretted it soon enough. She says she "Couldn't afford to leave"? My ass - that bus ride straight through her neighborhood, several times a day, to higher ground was FREE. Alas, that's all my fault, the tax payers fault, the governments fault, etc. NEVER their own. And personally speaking, responsibility is something several citizens in New Orleans could use more of. I speak from experience - neatly 40 years worth unfortunately.

I'm so sorry to you personally “CrappyDoo (hahaha!)“ that my words seem harsh. I truly am. But I have grown up and known this city my whole life, and I've never seen it as disgusting as what it is now. It juts keeps getting worse - but the city has a government who allows it to happen to maintain their votes in office. There are anywhere from 2 to 4 murders a night, mostly black youth but not all, and these kids are dropping out of high school with parents who let them because they did it themselves., Many of those who do choose to stay in school can hardly string a sentence together to pull off of a job interview, let alone fill out an application for work or college. Take a good look at New Orleans now and during the storm - and that’s exactly where voting straight down a party line in Louisiana due to race will get you. Fortunately for me, I’m bipartisan and vote for any candidate I want. The only hopes many low income youths have in NOLA is getting paid by becoming a hip-hop or rap star. Ask them yourself if you ever visit the states. I did. Thank God there are still parents who do care about where they, and their children will end up in their careers. Thank god not all inner city black youth want to be a hop-hop star. It’s just that’s all most are ever encouraged to be, and I think that’s soooo wrong. God these kids can do so much more of they were just allowed to think how important responsibility and education truly is.

This woman just wanted to some publicity to promote her cd and get famous. Keep in mind, SHE went after the film crew asking them to follow her. This stupid woman is just like a lot of other youth in NOLA who want to be famous too. They are a dime a dozen, and truly one of the saddest sights you will ever see. MOST IMPORTANTLY this doc does NOT represent the average American citizen/youth. THANK GOD FOR THAT. They were looking for a boo-hoo pitiful story (as if blacks in New Orleans were the only ones who suffered). People all over the coast are still suffering from Katrina, many of them white, elderly and disabled, with hardly a dime to their names left on top of the personal loss of husbands, wives and children too.

Thanks for letting me vent, Scoob. My sincerest apologies if I’ve offended you, it was not intentional.
Ali

@dalben.You said:"I am appalled by the veiled and not-so veiled casual racism exhibited by some of the posters here.But not surprised."Good thing you're not surprised because there are a lot of similar comments like that on IMDb,YouTube and Yahoo.It's disgusting.

it was good.

the point that was missed is that the government was not prepared to give aid to a flooded city. People in other areas did not have as much trouble getting a FEMA response because the logistics were not as difficult. It was more than Orleans parrish that was flooded. Plaquemines and St. Bernard Parrish were flooded as well. BUt that was predominantly white people and that does not make a good as a story as the lower 9th ward does. Katrina was a horrific event but much of the suffering that occurred in New Orleans was the responsibility of the people and their inability to cope with the situation and a local government that was totally unprepared to access the Federal aid that was available. Katrina was at best a once in a hundred year event and no government agency can prepare or drill for that occurrence. the anti government rants turned me off and for the most part it was a bunch of wards of the state that dont contribute but then turn it into a political event. The suffering by the elderly in the hospitals and nursing homes was much worse than what these folks went through but that does not make a good political statement as funds were not a problem for those people it was just the situation that made them suffer and there was no apparent person or group that could be made a scapegoat like FEMA>

I agree. These commentators are the most vile reactionaries I've ever listened to. It's not even worth trying to speak about them. America has a serious poverty problem, a serious health care problem... but I some people will never open their eyes to the other America.

Speaking of I recommend Michael Harrington's seminal work "The Other America".